1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an X-ray diagnostic apparatus having a C-arm.
2. Description of the Related Art
In diagnosis or medical treatment based on angiography, a device such as a guide wire or catheter is inserted into a blood vessel. An operator advances a device to a morbid region of a subject in diagnosis of the morbid region while referring to fluoroscopic image data obtained by fluoroscopy and reference image data obtained by imaging at the same position as that of the fluoroscopic image data upon injecting a contrast medium in advance by using an X-ray diagnostic apparatus for circulatory organs.
In addition, in many cases, an operator advances a device to a morbid region while calling up and checking, on a monitor, fluoroscopic image data for displaying a blood vessel structure in real time by temporarily injecting a small amount of contrast medium into the blood vessel and reference image data.
Furthermore, an operator often advances a device to a morbid region while displaying and checking, on a monitor, image data (fluoroscopic road map image data) in which a blood vessel image and a guide wire image are extracted by subtraction processing for fluoroscopic image data for displaying a blood vessel structure, which is obtained in real time, and reference image data obtained in advance by imaging at the same position as that of the fluoroscopic image data.
When a morbid region to be treated is determined to some extent, an operator advances a device inserted into the blood vessel or performs medical treatment while observing the morbid region from at least two positions by displaying fluoroscopic image data and reference image data or fluoroscopic road map image data concerning the morbid region on the monitor. In addition, an observation region is imaged as needed.
An X-ray diagnostic apparatus for circulatory organs comprises an X-ray generating unit which applies X-rays to a subject, an X-ray detecting unit which is positioned to face the X-ray generating unit through the subject and detects X-rays, and a C-arm which holds the X-ray generating unit and the X-ray detecting unit. It is known that X-ray diagnostic apparatuses for circulatory organs include a single plane system comprising one C-arm and a biplane system comprising two C-arms (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-137222).
In the present circumstances, although an X-ray diagnostic apparatus of the biplane system requires no complicated operation for the movement of the C-arms because observations from two positions can be simultaneously performed by using the two C-arms, the apparatus demands a large installation area and is expensive, and hence its installation is limited.
In contrast, an X-ray diagnostic apparatus of the single plane system does not demand a large installation area and is inexpensive as compared with that of the biplane system, and hence is installed in many places.
In the single plane system, however, every time the observation position is changed, the C-arm must be moved, and image data such as fluoroscopic image data, reference image data, and fluoroscopic road map image data at the position to which the C-arm is moved must be displayed. These operations must be manually performed using an operating unit. Such operations are cumbersome and difficult for an operator who manually operates a device such as a catheter or guide wire during diagnosis or medical treatment.